Holiness.
Holiness.
The gift of God basically is freedom from slavery to sin. The gift of freedom from slavery to sin and of the ability to be a slave of God leads to holiness. Holiness makes us eligible to receive eternal life. We are to be holy because God is holy. What does this mean? It means that God is our Father. We have been born of God. We are His children and therefore are to be like Him in every way.
In what manner is God holy? We can kind of sense what this means, although it is difficult to explain in precise terms. It means there is no spirit in God that is not totally pure, totally clean. God is free from all unclean spirits. God is pure.
Holiness means also that God is filled with Life that has infinite, eternal power—Life that is the opposite of unclean spirits. God's attitudes and motives insure that His thoughts, words, and actions are righteous.
We know what unclean spirits are. They include all forms of lying, moral filth and passions, murderous rages, pride, seeking to be preeminent, malice, envy, treachery, fear, cowardice, impatience, lack of self-control, unclean speech, foolishness, slander, love for the things of the world. The lake that burns with fire and sulphur has authority over all such attitudes and behaviours.
None of these attitudes and behaviours is found in God. God is humble of heart, always truthful, always kind, always faithful, always pure of thought, speech, and deed. God is high above impure attitudes and behaviours, which are the spawn of Satan.
God did not create man with these destructive impulses. They have originated in Satan as he chose to follow his own will rather than the will of God. Such unclean bondages came down to us from the wicked lords in the heavens. We did not choose them and many of us desire to be free from them. They bring misery and corruption into our life on the earth.
Purity of personality and behaviour is to be true of every one of God's people. But there is another dimension, a dimension that is not part of our moral transformation. We are holy because God has called us out from the ranks of mankind. In fact, this is the meaning of the term "church."
So we see we are holy because God has called us to Himself. We have been called to be "saints," that is, holy ones. And such we are, even before our personality and behaviour have been cleansed. After we place our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit of God sets about to cleanse us from all uncleanness (to sanctify us.)
Every human being is to be wholly righteous in behaviour, and Christ is able to make us so. But holiness, as distinct from righteous behaviour, is a calling, and it is by degrees. We see this in the case of Aaron, the Levites, and the children of Israel. All were called out from the nations of the earth to be holy. But Aaron was more holy than the Levites; and the Levites were more holy than the remainder of the Israelites. But all composed a holy, called-out nation.
The Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle of the Congregation was more holy than the Courtyard, because God declared it so. Those who served in the Holy and Most Holy Places had to conduct themselves in a more dedicated manner than was true of the other Jews. The Nazarites were more holy than the other Israelites and were not free to eat and live like other members of their race.
Let's think for a moment about the several aspects of holiness:
Actual holiness of personality—free from unclean spirits and having Christ formed in us as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
Holiness by our calling as a saint, as a holy one, as a member of the royal priesthood.
Holiness by rank in the Kingdom of God—called to a high place in the Kingdom. This means we have more eternal, resurrection life than is true of those of lesser rank.
Holiness by relationship—children are holy, having God's blessing on them, because of a believing father or mother.
Holiness by God's designation—the Tabernacle of the Congregation, or the ground where Joshua was standing.
Holiness by contact with that which is holy—the flesh of a sin offering is an instance of this.
Holiness by being consecrated—set apart to God for His special purposes. This was marked by special injunctions concerning food and dress for the Israelites.
We understand therefore there is holiness that has to do with God's statements concerning people, buildings, or locations, and then there is actual holiness of personality. Holiness of personality means unclean spirits have been removed from us and Christ has been formed in their place.
God is utterly holy, utterly free from spiritual uncleanness. God has called us to be separate from the world; to be members of a holy priesthood who offer holy praise to the Lord God, lifting up clean hands in adoration.
Holiness is characterized by cleanliness of thought, speech, and action, and also by separation to God as His special possession.
The Apostle Paul informs us that the children of Christian people are automatically holy, showing that holiness is a calling apart from our behaviour.
The very Spirit that has been given to us is the Spirit of Holiness. Being given the Holy Spirit means we have been chosen to be a member of the royal priesthood, who will serve God and govern the members of the nations of saved people for eternity.
The New Testament frequently refers to us as God's elect, meaning we have been chosen out of the world to be holy to the Lord, just as though we were a member of the Aaronic priesthood. On us is written: "Holiness to the Lord."
What if someone who is called to be a saint continues in unclean behaviour? He or she will be chastened by the Lord. You can count on being punished if you do not fulfil your role as a saint (holy one).
Image and Union.
Historically the Christian churches have viewed eternal residence in Heaven as the goal, the result of being saved. However venerable this tradition may be, it is not scriptural, neither in terms of the Old Testament nor the New.
The goal of salvation has two aspects. The first aspect is that we be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, first the moral image and ultimately, at His return, the bodily image. The second aspect of the goal of salvation is untroubled rest in the centre of God's Person and will.
To be in Christ's image but not to be resting in the Father's Person and will would be to bring a rebellious Christ into the universe. Satan desires to be like the most High but would never be content to rest in the Father's will. We hear Christians today saying they want power. This is a dangerous desire. We ought to say we want to be in the image of the Lord and to be in the centre of God's will. Why do we want power?
To be in Christ's image and at rest in God has nothing whatever to do with going to Heaven or with gaining power with God.
We do not press forward into the image of Christ and into union with God through Christ in order that we might have power or that we might minister. We press forward into the image of Christ and into untroubled rest in God in order that we might please God and serve Him in His Kingdom.
We do not have to wait until we are in the perfect image of Christ and perfectly at rest in God's will in order to minister to people or to serve Christ in His Kingdom. But the more perfectly we are in the image of Christ, and the more completely we are dwelling in God's rest, God's will, the higher the quality is of our ministry to people and our service to Christ in His Kingdom.
So let us rejoice in the thought of going to be with the Lord when we die, but at the same time follow the Holy Spirit diligently as He fashions us in the moral image of Christ and leads us into perfect rest in God's Person and will.